Wednesday, April 29, 2015

French peacekeepers suspected of rape – ladepeche.fr

A preliminary investigation was opened on charges of rape of children committed by French troops deployed in Central Africa.

The investigation was opened in July 2014 after transmission by the Paris prosecutor Ministry of Defence of a United Nations working document. Which document was revealed yesterday by the British newspaper “The Guardian”.

The report accuses international troops but especially French soldiers of having committed these attacks.

The text says military have abused minors in “exchange for money or food.” The incident allegedly took place in Bangui in December 2013 and June 2014. The Central African capital was then the prey of intense fighting between anti-Balaka Christian and Muslim militia of Sélaka. Hundreds of thousands of civilians had fled their homes then to hide on M’Poko airport in Bangui. It is in this refugee camp that rapes have taken place.

Children 9 years

Investigators collected several testimonies of children, some as young as 9 years , telling about the abuse they suffered. The report, stamped “confidential” is extremely detailed, according to the Guardian. A 9 year old boy and says he was sexually assaulted by two soldiers while he was at a checkpoint in the hope of finding something to eat. The victims, very shocked, have nevertheless been able to give accurate descriptions of some rapists.

Written in the summer of 2014 a UN team, the report is very long remained secret. The investigation seemed to get bogged raising fears that no sanction be imposed. “Sexual abuse by security forces peacekeeping covered by the United Nations shows a disregard for the victims.

The whistleblower threatened with dismissal

But the awful truth is that this is not uncommon. The lack of response from the UN to sexual abuse by its members must be investigated, “says Paula Donovan, of the NGO Free World.

Anders Kompass, an aid worker UN, in Geneva, tired of the lack of will, finally decided on his own to enter the French authorities, which places now under the threat of dismissal from the ON U. The French Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that the Paris prosecutor opened a preliminary investigation into the matter in July 2014. Investigators working in cooperation with the United Nations.

The United Nations already faced several scandals of pedophilia in its ranks during the peacekeeping operation. The revelation of rape could hamper the mission of France in CAR, where 1,000 French soldiers are still stationed.